February 19, 2022
Situated only 90 minutes from San Antonio and one of the fastest growing cities in the US, Cynthia and I decided to see what all the fuss was about for Austin, TX. Leaving San Antonio at around 10:30 am, our first experience with Austin was running into dozens of extreme slowdowns on I-35 and then running into gridlock about 20-30 minutes from the city center. We exited the freeway and took surface streets to our first destination, which were also jammed with enormous amounts of traffic. Using Google Maps to get around, I was able to keep a pulse on how traffic conditions shifted throughout the day and I-35, north and southbound, was dark red all day long from the northern edge of town to the southern edge. I later did some research about Austin traffic and our experience is a regular occurrence, especially on weekends.
Barton Springs
Enough about the traffic, our first stop in Austin was at Barton Springs Pool, which is a natural outdoor swimming pool open to the public. The water originates from a nearby spring and maintains a temperature of 68° – 74° year round. The water was very clear and there were a number of people swimming and even more people laying out on the nearby grass slopes grabbing some sun. One guy was passed out on some rocks in the most uncomfortable looking position.
Downtown
Our next stop was downtown where we visited the Texas Capitol and roamed the halls of the offices and chambers. We were able to enter the senate and house chambers and peek into the Texas Supreme Court. The building itself was magnificent, both inside and outside, and featured a number of monuments to historic Texas events. From there, we rode Lime scooters down to Lady Bird Lake/Town Lake, where we traded those for the city’s bike-share bicycles and rode up and down the waterfront and on the streets in downtown. We ended the day by taking a stroll along the Lady Bird Lake boardwalk at night and were treated with great views of the city’s nightscape.
